Charlie Wyke marked his first start of the season with the winning goal as Sunderland earned a hard-fought victory at Rochdale.

The Black Cats toiled at Spotland and were second-best for most of the match, with both their goals coming against the run of play.

First Aiden McGeady fired them in front shortly before the half-hour, but Callum Camps levelled for Dale just five minutes later.

But despite Dale making a fast start to the second period, it was Sunderland who found the net again with Wyke’s strike coming just before the hour.

The performance was unconvincing at times and the Black Cats were riding their luck in the final minutes when the hosts were throwing everything forward and created a couple of glorious chances to force a point at the very least.

But Sunderland hung on to complete back-to-back league wins, which should ease the tension that had built up after they started the campaign with a pair of 1-1 draws

Jack Ross made just one enforced change to the side that started the weekend win against Portsmouth at the Stadium of Light.

He brought in Wyke to take the place of Marc McNulty, who suffered a hamstring injury early in the second half against Pompey.

Rochdale boss Brian Barry-Murphy made two changes to the starting XI which began the weekend draw at Shrewsbury Town.

Aaron Morley and 16-year-old Luke Matheson came into the side in place of Jimmy Keohane and Matt Done.

Chris Maguire sent a long-range shot over the bar but it was Rochdale who made most of the early running, with Stephen Dooley a constant thorn in the side of Sunderland’s stand-in left-back Conor McLaughlin.

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For all their probing, Rochdale did not test Jon McLaughlin beyond a few routine crosses and corners.

And when Camps did get a sight of goal after surging through the right-hand channel, he drove his shot into the sidenetting and McLaughlin looked to have it covered in any case.

Sunderland took the lead against the run of play on 28 minutes, when Wyke won an aerial ball deep in Dale territory and it was worked out to Luke O’Nien on the right, his low ball across the box found McGeady unmarked and he had time to control and fire low into the bottom left-hand corner.

But that lead lasted only five minutes before Camps equalised, with Dooley popping up on the left side of the box and cutting the ball back to him inside the D, and the sidefoot finish into the bottom left-hand corner gave McLaughlin no chance.

Rochdale finished the half the stronger of the two sides and if anything Sunderland were the happier side to go in level at the break.

The hosts carried on in the second half where they left off in the first, with Oliver Rathbone bringing a good save out of McLaughlin and soon after the Scotland international made another fine stop, this time from a long-range Camps effort.

But on 57 minutes, once again it was Sunderland who took the lead against the run of play.

Substitute Will Grigg, who had only just joined the action, won a header on the edge of the box and O’Nien got the byline on the right before crossing to the far post where McGeady’s header hit Wyke, he collected and fired home on the turn.

Sunderland could have killed the game off a couple of minutes later, but on-loa Brighton keeper Robert Sanchez saved Grigg’s close-range shot, and then Wyke’s follow-up was blocked by a defender.

Rathbone sent a shot wide of the target as Rochdale looked to get back on terms, while at the other end McGeady saw one effort blocked and sent another wide.

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Rochdale could easily have earned a draw at the death with substitute Calvin Andrew missing two excellent opportunities, heading the first straight at McLaughlin, and sending the second over the crossbar.